


Confession/Secret

by Wes_Sirius



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Conflict Resolution, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:33:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wes_Sirius/pseuds/Wes_Sirius
Summary: Although Strega were lenient with his debt, Shinjiro still didn't want that hanging over his head. With a wad of cash in his pocket, he strolled down to their agreed meeting point, until he caught a small girl hanging near said meeting point.... Why must his new girlfriend be such a piece of work?
Relationships: Aragaki Shinjiro/Arisato Minako, Aragaki Shinjiro/Female Persona 3 Protagonist
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	Confession/Secret

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first time writing something Persona-related, so I do hope it turns out well.

Shinjiro hated the rapidly cooling weather. He already had his inability of regulating his own body temperature to worry about, and with fall creeping in, every day would feel like walking around in a freezer.

The pill capsule still weighed of lead in his pocket, despite the last pill having been finished just a week ago. Well, not finished, but more like chucked out to the street by him after some guilt tripping from Minako. He’d planned to take the secret of the drugs to his grave, but the kid just had to be stirred awake right when he was about to take another dose. At least she’d sworn to keep her lips shut about this.

Seriously, how did he luck out...?

He had to remind himself to not clench the bills too tightly with his hand. He might crumple them with his strength. It took a while, but he managed to scrape together enough cash for the final payment for Takaya. Just hand the cash over to that asshole tonight, and he’ll finally be able to leave these damned drugs behind him forever.

At least, leave them behind him until his death sentence. Shinjiro hadn’t missed Ken’s increasingly agitated glowers at him whenever the kid thought no one’s looking. Today was the last day of September; only four more days left.

He weaved through the dark alleys between the second-hand shops. Shinjiro recognized these passages better than any bored middle school kid. It almost felt like he memorized them, too. He folded the bills into half, ready to hand them over to Mr Hobo Jesus-

Until his eyes landed upon a head of auburn hair peeking around behind a pastry store.

_ Fuck. _

Shinjiro suppressed the urge to growl. Why the fuck was Minako here, at this hour? Was she expecting him to come here tonight? What was she scheming?

Shinjiro stuffed the bills into his pocket. Takaya and Jin may be nothing more than two delusional punks, but they were still Persona-users. And that fucking revolver of Takaya’s; Shinjiro would send him to an early grave if he dared to use it on Minako.

The girl tiptoed closer, practically pressing her body against the wall of the store. She was... peering into the alleyway, where Takaya would supposedly be at. Wait... was she trying to spy on Strega?

This kid...

Looks like even after that incident at the start of the month, he still needed to save her ass sometimes.

For once, being a head taller than her came in handy. Shinjiro remained silent as he clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her close to him. After a brief squeak from shock, she began squirming around in his grip, but he simply shushed her. “Not. A. Word.”

Good god, if she didn’t recognize his voice, he would’ve been fucked. Minako wasn’t an athletics maniac like Aki, but she was far from helpless. If Shinjiro were a normal creep trying to whisk her away, said creep would’ve been knocked flat on his ass before onlookers could call the police.

_ Goddammit. _ He couldn’t just venture into that alleyway now, with Minako in this. Takaya wasn’t dumb, and he would quickly put two and two together. Dammit. Looks like he’d have to come up with some half-assed excuse for those two about why he couldn’t make it tonight. And he was the one who told them that he’d be paying tonight, too.

He took a breath to steady his heartbeat, before cautiously dragging Minako at least 5 feet away from the back alley. She glowered at him, and he simply responded with his  _ “shut the fuck up and listen to me” _ glare in return. He was going to be thoroughly interrogated, wasn’t he?

He didn’t say anything as he released her. He wanted to see what she had in store for him first. Minako was giving him what Aki would call “The Woman’s Puppy Eyes of Disappointment”. The tears were already brimming behind the cracking dam that was her eyes. It was bad enough that she’d learned about his drugs, and now this.

“Strega were the one who supplied to you those suppressants.” Her voice was numb. Shinjiro didn’t have the gall to pull down his beanie to hide his face. He owed her yet another explanation.

“Yes.”

“Did you meet with them tonight to buy more?” Fuck, of course she’d come to that conclusion. He’d better dispel any misunderstanding.

“No, I came to pay off the last of it. I’ve found enough cash, so might as well wrap up loose ends.” The bills felt like an anchor in his pocket. Takaya would  _ not _ be happy.

“You owed them money?!” Shinjiro winced at how worried she sounded. Thoughts about loan sharks and the like must be whirling in her mind right now. He... wouldn’t be surprised if Takaya finally decided to put interest on his loan again after tonight. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve helped you!”

“There’s no need, Minako.” He snarled. He didn’t like talking to her so harshly, but she needed to calm down and listen to his explanation. “Takaya is many things, but a loan shark isn’t one of those. It took some... convincing, but he agreed to not charge interest.” He clenched the bills with his palm. “I was planning to pay off the last of the charges to them tonight, but then I saw you sneaking around the place.”

It was Minako’s turn to go silent. She hung her head, not willing to look at him. How the tables have turned.

“I’m not dumb, kid. You wouldn’t be wandering in that specific back alley for no reason.” Shinjiro grabbed her chin and gently tipped her head up, forcing her to face him. “You were trying to spy on Strega, weren’t you?”

Her awkward fidgeting was enough of an answer.  _ This kid... _ Shinjiro grumbled under his breath. He let go of her chin and grabbed her left arm instead. The red armband hugged her upper arm, even though Mitsuru had allowed them to rest for tonight. He was bullshit at rousing words, but he had to say something. “Minako, look at this.”

She glanced at the ring of silk. “It’s my armband for S.E.E.S...?”

“And you know what S.E.E.S. is?” God, not even halfway in and he was already doing shit. “It’s a team. And teammates never go on solo operations. You are a part of S.E.E.S., so don’t you dare be a fucking lone wolf. If Strega had seen you, and none of us were able to step in, you would’ve been dead fucking meat in the blink of an eye.” The thought of those two assholes laughing over her mangled body... his life be damned, he would sic Castor on those bastards right then and there.

All she could offer was a sheepish “I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t scare me like that again. Ever.” He reached out and brushed her cheek. He forgot how comforting it felt to be with her. His adam’s apple bobbed. He wasn’t sure how she would think of him after this, and it was fine with him if she needed alone time, but... that desire burned in his heart. The desire to reach out and comfort her. Make the world consist of nothing but both of them, just for a few minutes.

Maybe, just for this one moment, he could be selfish.

Shinjiro took a few steps forward. Minako didn’t retreat from him or push him away, so he decided to be bolder. He forced himself to stand straight as he continued approaching her. The night gale stung his bones, but he didn’t sense it as he wrapped his arms around her. God, if the world was in Ice Age, she was a immortal hearth.

“Shinji, what are you-” Shinjiro shushed her. The fingers of his free hand disappeared into her paprika colored ponytail. The night he’d taken away Ken’s mother and childhood, he’d been sentenced to death, either by the hands of the boy or by those pills. And yet, fate was kind enough to grace him with one good thing just a few days before he would carry out his sentence. This good thing in question had unknowingly convinced him to take less of those damned drugs, because a part of him really, really didn’t want to leave her early. The image of her weeping over his comatose body made his heart twist. She didn’t deserve this, but it was too late to pull him out of the guillotine. Might as well make the most of what few days on this world he had left.

“Don’t risk your life like that ever again, Minako.” He knew it was an unfair request, when S.E.E.S. had to fight for their lives against Shadows in Tartarus almost every night. But if one of them had to die, he’d rather it be him first. “Remember that you have your teammates to lean on. You’re not a lone wolf.”

The words  _ “and you have me” _ lingered in his throat, but he chose to not say that. He’d been selfish enough tonight. He continued to hug her in silence, and allowed himself to enjoy this small blessing for just this once.


End file.
